Lettuce Recalled Over E. coli Concerns

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A popular brand of lettuce grown inCalifornia's Salinas Valley, the region at the center of anationwide spinach scare, has been recalled over concerns about E.coli contamination. The lettuce does not appear to have caused any illnesses,according to the president of Salinas-based Nunes Co. Inc. Executives ordered the recall Sunday after learning thatirrigation water may have been contaminated with E. coli, Tom NunesJr. said. So far, company investigators have not found E. coli bacteria inthe lettuce itself, Nunes said. "We're just reacting to a water test only. We know there'sgeneric E. coli on it, but we're not sure what that means," hesaid. "We're being extra careful. This is precautionary." The recall comes amid other federal warnings that some brands ofspinach, bottled carrot juice and recent shipments of beef couldcause grave health risks - including paralysis, respiratory failureand death. It covers green leaf lettuce under the Foxy brand that waspurchased in grocery stores Oct. 3-6 in Arizona, California,Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. It was also sold todistributors in those states who may have sold it to restaurants orinstitutions. The recalled lettuce was packaged as "Green Leaf 24 Count,waxed carton," and "Green Leaf 18 Count, cellophane sleeve,returnable carton." Packaging is stamped with lot code 6SL0024. FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said the agency was aware of thevoluntary recall but had no details. "As a standard course of action, we would expect the firm toidentify the source of the contamination and take steps to ...ensure that it doesn't happen again," Zawisza said in an e-mail. It's unlikely that the bacteria in the lettuce fields share thesource of the E. coli found in spinach that has sickened nearly 200people and has been linked to three deaths nationwide, Nunes said. Pathogenic Escherichia coli bacteria, or E. coli, canproliferate in uncooked produce, raw milk, unpasteurized juice,contaminated water and meat. When consumed, it may cause diarrheaand bloody stools. Although most healthy adults recover within a week withoutlong-term side effects, some people may develop a form of kidneyfailure. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable toillness. The recall at Nunes Co., a family-owned business with more than20,000 acres of cropland in Arizona and California, comes daysafter federal agents searched two Salinas Valley produce companiesconnected to the spinach scare. Epidemiologists warned consumers last week to stay away fromsome bottled carrot juice after a Florida woman was paralyzed andthree people in Georgia experienced respiratory failure, apparentlydue to botulism poisoning. On Friday, an Iowa company announced that it was recalling 5,200pounds of ground beef suspected of having E. coli. The governmentsaid no illnesses have been reported from consumption of the beef. The outbreaks have sparked demands to create a new federalagency in charge of food safety. Sens. Charles Schumer and HillaryRodham Clinton, both New York Democrats, are sponsoring legislationauthored by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., to create the unified FoodSafety Agency. "There's a high level of urgency in our industry, and we'rebeing very proactive," Nunes said. "It's obviously based uponrecent events in the produce industry and concern for customers. Wejust don't want anything to happen."

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